Stella Hines, MD, Named Chair of American Thoracic Society Assembly on Environmental, Occupational & Population Health

Stella Hines, MD, MSPH, an esteemed occupational pulmonologist and Professor of Occupational and Environmental Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), has been named Chair of the American Thoracic Society (ATS) Assembly on Environmental, Occupational and Population Health (EOPH).

The EOPH Assembly represents a broad range of researchers, clinicians, educators, and public health professionals interested in the impact of environmental and occupational factors on health, as well as those using population-based approaches to address the global burden of lung disease. In her new role, she will advance the assembly’s key objectives, including promoting discussion and evaluation of studies on environmental and occupational factors and identifying interventions that can be translated into clinical and public health practice.

“I’m deeply honored to be elected to this leadership role,” said Dr. Hines. “At a time when scientific voices are being silenced, the role of professional societies like ATS has never been more vital. ATS has been an important professional home for me, and I look forward to further collaboration with colleagues to advance research, education, and advocacy that improves respiratory health for workers and our communities.”

Dr. Hines serves as a Professor in the Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine at UMSOM and has been evaluating patients with work-related and environmental lung conditions for two decades. Nationally, she served as the Chief of the Field Studies Branch at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), where she led multidisciplinary investigations into respiratory hazards across a wide range of industries. Her research has served to shape best practices for respiratory protection in healthcare settings and significantly advanced understanding of deployment-related lung disease among military veterans.

During the COVID‑19 pandemic, she played an instrumental role in guiding hospitals through the adoption of reusable elastomeric respirators and powered air‑purifying respirators, work that influenced respiratory protection strategies both nationally and globally. Additionally, her clinical epidemiologic research examining the links between military exposures, including metals, blast injuries, and depleted uranium, and deployment-related respiratory disease has advanced insights into the long-term health consequences of war. This expertise led her to serve as Director of the Baltimore VA site of the Post-Deployment Cardiopulmonary Evaluation Network and Chair of the ATS Section of Terrorism and Inhalational Disasters.

“Dr. Hines’ research and leadership continue to shape the field of pulmonary and occupational medicine,” said Roberto Machado, MD, Chair of the Department of Medicine at UMSOM. “Her longstanding commitment to the American Thoracic Society has played an important role in advancing national efforts to safeguard worker health and address the respiratory effects of environmental and occupational exposures.” We are extremely proud to see her step into this well-deserved role.”

Assembly Chairs are preeminent leaders in their fields and are elected by their peers to three-year terms. Last year, Dr. Hines was awarded the ATS Mid-Career Achievement Award. Her election reflects her outstanding scholarship and longstanding commitment to advancing occupational and environmental health. She was also recently awarded the Vashisht College of Medicine 2026 Outstanding Alumnus award at Texas A&M for making major contributions to national guidelines and policy discussions on occupational lung diseases.